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The Visionary
The Visionary was a post-war philosopher who's name, history, and origins to this day remain unknown. He was the writer of the work he named dirigism, which was an ideology he developed during his lifetime. Records of his past are completely non-existent, with the sole exception of his own writings in the form of a journal he left behind. The works formed the basis of the ideological system he wished to implement as the source of rebuilding human civilization following the destructive Great War in 2077. All of his ideas came from what he witnessed both during the immediate aftermath of the Great War, and the decades following it, and though he would never live to see his ideas adopted by a post-war society, they would become the basis of the N/A's core ideologies. History Origins Almost nothing is known of the Visionary's personal life, from his birthplace and origins, to his life and cause of death. All that is known about his comes from his writings in his personal journal found in the area of the lower Mississippi region. What can be deduced from his writings is that he was certainly born before the start of the Great War in 2077, as referenced from his extensive knowledge of the ancient thinkers such as Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle, as well his constant referencing of then current events, such as the Sino-American War and his personal recollection of the Gobi Campaign. Furthermore, he spoke fondly of his admiration of Chinese work ethics during his time in China, an experience that would have required the period of his life at that time to have predated the Great War. Following the war, the Visionary mentions that he was "happy to be home" when writing his introduction to his journal, a region that is most likely to have been the state of Mississippi in the Southwest Commonwealth of the United States. His age and occupation remain unknown, though it is likely that he was in his forties at the time of the journal's start, and he was a professional soldier up until his returning to Mississippi. As for other details such as his race, marital and familial status, and other information, they can only be pondered on as tertiary details. The Visionary maintained a cabin along the Mississippi River, where he lived throughout his life according to his writings. During the Great War, the Visionary wrote of his having predicted the ultimate outcome of the world, a world that he believed was dominated by a system of governance, culture, and ideology that would end in its destruction. Mentioning that he felt it was his duty to leave something of greater worth to future generations, this has led many to believe that his residence in Mississippi was of coincidence and that he may not have come from the state to begin with, though he may have come from another part of the state or the region as a whole. What is known is that the Visionary survived the Great War, and traveled frequently to trade for goods and supplies, and it was during these interactions that the man developed the other aspects of the ideology he would ultimately call "dirigism". Works and writings Following the nuclear war that engulfed the planet, the Visionary focused entirely on his work, writing frequently of his interactions with the rest of the world and how they shaped his view of humanity and the solutions he thought of for their problems. He traveled up and down the Mississippi River, visiting settlements such as New Memphis and the towns of the Royaume, as well as his interactions with the Swampers, Mississippi Traders Union, and Klansmen Confederacy. He also traveled to regions in the rest of the old American Southeast, and engaged with numerous groups and tribals to get a feel of the way of life they were living and how they managed to eek out an existence in the wastelands. With each interaction, the Visionary's work grew both in volume and detail, with him pinpointing both the strength and flaws of each society he came across, and proposing his own thoughts and solutions to them. For example, while he appreciated the honesty and integrity of the Klansmen, as well as their devotion to their people and their survival, he regarded their views as "narrow and shortsighted", pointing out that the racism of their society – while entirely their right to welcome and deny who they wanted – closed them off to individuals of other races who could contribute in a number of beneficial ways. Likewise, while the order and civilization provided by the Royaume were a boon, its corruption and aristocracy disgusted the Visionary. Thus, he sought to establish a middle ground where the best of all ideals and societies could be brought together while, to the best of his ability, minimizing on the negatives. To that end, the Visionary founded the ideology which he named "Dirigism", coming from the Latin word dirige ("guide"). In the mind of the Visionary, he sought to create an ideology which would guide humanity back to the light of peace and civilization, while removing all the flaws that lead to the collapse of the civilization he had once known. While he was aware that many personal sacrifices would need to be made by those who adopt his ideology, the Visionary knew that it would be the touch with which to bring humankind back to its once glorious apex. Later life and death Very little is known about the later life of the Visionary, as after the completion of his journal, all personal references ended. What is known is that he spent the last years of his life copying his work, writing four other books which he stored in his cabin's safe. After this point, nothing about his later life is known. Sometime during the 2160s, scavengers from the region of Corpse Coast came across the cabin, and found the wasted remains of a skeleton on a bed in the decrepit home. The safe in the cabin was opened successfully, but nothing but books were found. These books would be sold to traders in New Memphis, and the entire collection would pass on to the caravan master of a N/A group, who were visiting the town looking for goods to purchase. From there, the writings would be given to the leader of N/A as a gift, where the true worth of the books would be deduced and implemented. Philosophy The Visionary's work begins with his railing against what he called the "old system", the ideals of a world that were rapidly failing to deliver upon the promises its founders and chief proponents spoke highly of. He sought to rebuild the wasteland, though he acknowledged that it was man's fickle nature and the allowance of fools into power which had resulted in the death of the old world in nuclear fire in 2077. In his journal, the Visionary would touch upon all aspects of life, from family, to economics, to religion and sexuality, to military affairs and technology. It was the aim of the Visionary to completely revamp human civilization in a way that it could successfully thrive once again. Politics It was the personal belief of the Visionary that the majority of humans were incapable of self-governance, and that a strong, paternal-like figure controlling the government should rule. His rule would be executed through the use of highly-accomplished figures chosen for their meritorious work and behavior. Time and again, the Visionary brings back to mind the inability of humans to guide themselves, and suggested that a caste system be implemented to assist with the guidance of individuals in life, ensuring that future generations would always find work to busy themselves up with, while leaving the day-to-day affairs of state to their more accomplished fellow citizens. Only those worthy of a position of leadership would ever make it to the top, and even then, one's position was not guaranteed, as a battery of tests and exams to determine one's knowledge of governance and changing society would help them hold onto their office, so as to prevent them from becoming static and complacent. At the top of the chain of political leadership would be the Supreme Director, the quasi-paternalist leader who would be surrounded by a cult of personality that would promote the Supreme Director as the "father of the people". Viewing families as the perfect analogue to human civilization, it was the Visionary's hope that such an individual would be able to guide the people in a loving manner that helped to gain him respect as a leader, rather than the use of fear to enforce his will. A body of individuals selected to review all politicians and their actions as leaders would be formed, with the aim of measuring their successes during their tenure, and either promote or reward them for their work, or condemn and remove them for their failures. This would maintain a cycle of leadership that would reward good behavior, while keeping politicians on their toes, ever wary of losing their job and status because of their poor performance. Society As aforementioned, a caste system was advocated by the Visionary, a way of guiding new citizens from birth into a way of life that would compliment the society they lived in, while minimizing the resources the state spent to raise and nurture them into adulthood. The Visionary believed that the allowance of any individual into a certain rank in society was what lead to the downfall of the world as he knew it, it was vital that only individuals deserving of such rank and status be given the opportunity to go for it. This caste system, broken down into the bureaucracy, clergy, artisans, soldiery, and laborers, would serve as the backbone of the ideal dirigist society. Young citizens would be monitored throughout their children and adolescence, and guided into the caste the state felt fit them most, as well as taking a number of tests to qualify them for a position within that caste. Schooling would be the vehicle by which new generations of citizens would be indoctrinated into the state ideology, as well as use of religion as a source of hope and personal self-improvement that would continue to influence the life and decisions an individual would make long after leaving school. The Visionary made no mistake when boasting of his belief in a god, and felt that religion gave people hope, hope that society needed to forge a road to a new and better future. As for family life, the Visionary spent considerable effort to explain his views on the subject, believing that collapsing families lead to the society that destroyed itself, and that a strong family was the first step to a strong and productive society. As far as he was concerned, productive citizens could only come from happy and productive families. The Visionary's other views on society, in particular, sexuality, were more controversial. He advocated for the use of sex as a bonding mechanism, not just between spouses, but family members and even children. During he travels, he often encountered tribes where sexuality was more "inclusive", and saw that there were few negative effects on children than he had been taught to believe during the pre-war era. He was thus open to the idea of incest and pedophilia as accepted norms in a dirigist society. However, he was not so keen to open his arms toward homosexuality, which he classified as a mental defect, and spoke poorly of those who were gay. Finally, the Visionary's view of women was that of "men lead, women follow", pointing to the countless example of tribal societies where once equal societies ultimately reverted to patriarchal ones, justifying in his mind, the supremacy of men over women as "the natural state of things". Law and order Having witnessed firsthand the horrors of lawlessness and true human nature, the Visionary was adamant that humans required borders and safeguards to keep them in check without stifling expression and creativity. Thus, he advocated for the creation of a surveillance state, which would punish only wrongdoers, while rewarding citizens for their vigilance against crime and corruption. Knowing full well that the state was limited in their ability to spy on citizens, the Visionary spoke of the use of neighborhood watches, anonymous tips, peer pressure, and social alienation as ways for citizens to aid the state in maintaining order and security. Known as the "brotherly watch", this would work in parallel with a strict, but a just legal system. In the words of the Visionary himself: "The law should be just, but the law should have no mercy". A form of ideological conformity would be used to maintain dirigist principles at all levels of society, using the fear of alienation by fellow citizens to keep one in line, rather than the fear of state persecution for stepping out of line. Indeed, using his experience in the military as he point of reference, the Visionary knew that a unit was stronger when it was united in thought and purpose, and the fear of ostracization was an effective tool to bring people back into the fold without having to punish them directly. Anyone thinking of defying the state would ultimately bring themselves back in line out of fear of losing the support of their friends and family, and would out of a desire to be accepted, move to conform with the state ideology all on their own. Further seeking to increase unity, the Visionary also advocated for the use of ranks and uniforms within society along caste lines, which would encourage the use of group thinking and discourage independent thought outside of the social norm. Once again using his experience in the military as a mirror, the Visionary explained that in-group preference and the desire to promote the goals of the group, would encourage citizens to think and act as a group, putting the needs of the community ahead of the needs of the individual. This would ultimately crush any criminal activity as it would lead to individuals of a group, often acquainted with one another, to quickly note any suspicious behavior. Likewise, the fear of harming others of one's group or those associated with one's group, would decrease anti-social behavior. Legacy Though the Visionary may have died in obscurity, totally ignorant to the gravity of his works, the N/A would soon find his writings, and adopt them into their way of life. The Visionary was a man ahead of his time in a world that destroyed all thought and creativity in his harsh wastelands and unforgiving way of life, and that was something he was acutely aware of both for himself and the millions of wastelanders struggling to survive. It was his dream to pass something on to the world before he died, and of that he was successful. Compiling all of his works into a single journal, and making four other copies which he stored in his riverside cabin on the Mississippi, the Visionary left behind his legacy, one of which would lead to his current title and status being bestowed upon him by those who found his journals. Today, a statue devoted to him rests in the center of N/A, a reminder that even the wasteland, philosophy could still flourish in the minds of men. Category:Deceased